Euronews

Greece is in the grip of another general strike with workers furious about yet more budget cuts demanded by the country’s financial rescuers.

The European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank say Greece must find an extra 325-million euros in savings before they release the latest round of emergency funds amounting to 130-billion euros.

Time is running out. Without the bailout Greece will not be able to meet debt repayments due soon, and a default would trigger chaos throughout the eurozone.

Some Greek newspapers appeared to agree with the troika’s demands – one said the choice for Greece was between being part of the euro, or walking down a dark road.

The rescuers are also insisting on backing from the Greek coalition. The main party leaders have already agreed to cut the minimum wage by 22 per cent. With elections looming though, they have been loath to accept the tough pre-conditions.

Greece has already endured five years of recession, a myriad of companies have gone bust and one in five workers is unemployed. The civil servants’ union said the latest demands from the troika are the ‘tombstone’ of Greek society.